Sick Days
by Neko Saruwatari
Summary: Ed and Al return to Resembool for automail repairs only to find that Winry isn't acting like herself. What could be wrong? EdxWin Fluff


A/N: Just some mindless fluff I wanted to write. It's been awhile since I've posted any EdxWin, so I thought I'd go ahead and post this. I actually started the story awhile ago and just recently decided to pick it back up and finish it. I'm glad I did, I like how it turned out. Anyway, as usual, I don't own any of the characters or the wonderful series, I'm just borrowing it for a bit. ;)

* * *

"Brother, you know she's going to kill you once she sees you."

"You think I don't know that already Al?" Ed said tersely kicking some dirt by his foot. He nudged the lifeless mechanical arm with his left hand making it shift slightly. Ed grumbled under his breath as they walked down a dirt road in Resembool. The sun beat down on them mercilessly, but it was a good change in temperature from the city.

They could already see the Rockbell house cresting over the hill tops and Edward could already hear the arguments. Why did his childhood friend have to be so…violent? Couldn't she just be happy to see them without pulling out that damn wrench? All were questions Ed knew he'd never be able to answer. Females were so hard to understand, it was a wonder he hadn't given up yet. But then again, he was the kind of guy who was interested in all the mysteries of the world, even if it was the opposite sex. Not that he'd paid much particular interest in the opposite sex. As far as his thought track went about it, he'd do it later. The more time away from the topic, the better in his book.

"Oh! We're here Brother!" Al said excitedly running ahead. Ed was brought back to reality to see that they were much closer to the house then they had previously been. Den was already barking and running up to Al, then Ed who was close behind.

"Settle down!" Ed said trying to push off the excited dog that was currently jumping on him. This proved hard with only one arm and soon enough Ed was laying flat on his back while Den licked his face.

"A little help Al!" he yelled at the tin suit, squirming to get Den off. Al chuckled picking the dog off Edward and shooing him back to the porch.

"Yuck! Now I've got dog slobber all over me," Ed complained grabbing Al's hand to stand up. He wiped his face off furiously, trying to get every remnant of dog slobber off. Al once again laughed gaining a glare from his older brother.

"We might as well go in now, they probably already know we're here because of that little incident," Al said stifling his laughter. Ed glared at him again, now in a bad mood. Well, a worse mood anyway.

Ed stomped up the stairs to the door, Al following a good distance behind. He rapped on the door with his fist wondering why no one had come to the door yet to see what all the commotion was about. Finally a blond haired figure sauntered to the door. She took one look through the screen door at the people standing on the other side and let out a long sigh. Slowly she pried open the door, mumbling she needed to fix it one of these days for jamming so much.

"Hi Winry!" Al said cheerfully when seeing her head poke out from inside. She smiled faintly at Al.

"Hey Al, it's been awhile," she said before turning to Ed with a frown, "And what might bring you here?"

Ed fidgeted at her passive look. Winry wasn't one to be so calm when he and Al arrived. Well, mostly when he arrived. Usually she would have pulled out her wrench by now beat him over the head with it.

"Uh…We…I mean, I need some maintenance on my arm. It's sort of not moving. And my leg is getting a bit short, so…" Ed trailed off at her dark gaze. His insides froze at the glower and he felt like running away, and fast. He didn't care if he looked like a complete idiot trying to accomplish the act; his life was a little more important than his dignity.

"Fine, come in," she said dismissing them and walking back to her work station. Ed looked taken aback. No yelling, no argument, no wrench? Now he knew something was wrong.

"Are you feeling okay Winry?" Ed asked enquiringly. She turned back to him before running her hand through her hair agitatedly. It was then he noticed the red staining her cheeks. He saw her reach for her wrench and prepared himself for the impact, but it never came. He looked over his outstretched hand in front of his face. Winry had already pocketed the wrench and was hunched over the couch wiping perspiration from her neck.

"I'm okay, it's just so hot," she said irritable. Her voice was the same void of emotion as it had been before. Ed quirked an eyebrow at her. It wasn't that hot. He was still wearing his coat and vest after all, and he felt fine.

"Hey Winry, where's Granny?" Al chimed in looking around as if expecting Pinako to jump out at any moment.

"Oh, she's in town picking up some new parts, so she's probably not going to be back until later," Winry mused. The brothers nodded taking in the information.

"Anyway Ed, do you want me to get started on your automail? I just finished up on my last job, so I can start now if you want," she said casually, as if snapping out of her dark mood.

"Sure, sounds good," Ed said letting Winry sit him down and examine his arm. She looked over the limp arm, making displeased sounds every now and then. She proceeded to looked over his mechanical leg, measuring the difference in the two legs height.

"Looks like we're going to have to detach the arm so I can work on it separately. The leg I'm also going to need off so I can make adjustments to it. In the mean time, you can wear the spare leg," Winry said finishing her inspection. She tapped the metal plates on his arm, a troubled look passing over her face when sand leaked out of it.

"What have you been getting into now to get it into such rough shape?" Winry asked, worry pinching her features.

"Um…It was a…fight…B-but we came out of it alright! I'm still in one piece…Well, mostly, but we're fine!" Ed said with a dismissive smile. He flinched, expecting Winry to burst out yelling at him, but it never came either. He hesitantly looked up at her.

"Well, at least you came back," he heard her mumble. She wasn't even going to say how he destroyed her best work of automail? Ed was beginning to think this wasn't Winry at all.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ed asked again, reaching out to take her arm so she'd face him.

"Don't worry about it! I'm fine! I'm fine!" she said brushing it off with a big smile. She took her arm back lightly from his grasp. Her face was red, as it had been for awhile, making Ed even more suspicious.

"Here, I'll go get the spare leg and get started fixing your arm and leg," Winry said running off to find the spare. Al looked down at Ed, a worried noise coming from him.

"Is something wrong with Winry? She's been acting weird," Al said looking at his hands folded in front of him. Ed shrugged.

"Now that you mention it, she has been acting oddly since we got here," Ed said indifferently even though he was feeling worry for her as well.

**xxx**

After Winry had located the spare leg and got all of Ed's automail off, she started to repair the parts. Ed was sitting comfortably reading on a couch near Winry's work area. He had long since discarded of his coat, vest and pants, leaving him in his blue shorts and black tank top. He was trying to catch up on some reading from his latest book and decided he'd just stay inside for the time being. Al was outside playing with Den, although the dog was worn out by the third time Al had thrown the stick for him to retrieve.

"Geeze Ed, all the wires are frayed in your arm, no wonder it's not moving," Winry stressed pulling some more wires from the mechanical arm. Ed shrugged.

"Wear and tear I guess," Ed said not looking up from his book. Winry rolled her eyes.

"More like wear and tear apart until it can't move," she said moving things around on her desk. She groaned and put her head on top of her arm.

"What is it now?" Ed asked glancing at her. She got up from the chair with a wobble.

"I need a bolt," she started to walk with a stagger in her step.

"I must have mis…placed it…some…where…" her speech started to slur and trail off. Ed's head shot up just as she took one last step and tripped. Her whole body lurched forward about to hit the wooden floor.

"Winry!" Ed yelled jumping up and grabbing her before she hit the floor. He pulled her up by her waist with his left arm and leaned her against his shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled as she struggled against him in vain. She looked up at him, her eyelids half drawn and a red flush staining her face.

"I…need to…finish your…automail," she said trying to stand on her own, but failing. Ed's face contorted in anger.

"Like hell you are!" he said with a snap sitting her on the couch. He pressed his left hand against her forehead.

"Holy…Winry, you're burning up! Why didn't you say anything?" Ed asked looking closely at her. She looked down at her lap frowning.

"I didn't…want you to worry."

"Well good job you've done with that so far," Ed said sarcastically, wrapping his left arm around her and hauling her up over his shoulder. Winry squirmed, surprised at his action.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked uneasily trying to grab onto something. She only managed to grab Ed's braid in the effort.

"Getting you to your room. I may seem useless with only one arm, but I can still carry you," Ed said with a pleased smile. Winry shook her head.

"I can-" she was cut off by Ed's sharp voice.

"No, you can't get there yourself. You have a high fever, so don't even try arguing with me," Ed said with finality. Anymore conversation about it was cut off there. Winry pouted as Ed carried her up the stairs.

"Fine then."

**xxx**

"Here," Ed said handing Winry a cold glass of water and sitting down beside her. He adjusted his chair to face her bed properly.

"Thanks," Winry said quietly taking the glass and sipping the contents slowly. Ed watched as she finished the water and handed the glass to him. He placed the empty cup on the bedside table and turned back to her.

"Are you feeling any better? Sorry that all I can get you is water right now, but Al is making some soup for you," Ed said. Winry began to sink back into bed, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She gave Ed a wondering look.

"Would you mind facing me for a moment?" Ed asked waiting for her to turn towards him. Winry thought to ask him why, but decided against it knowing whatever he was going to do was for her own good. She turned to him, shifting her body so her legs wouldn't fall off the bed, but she was still fully facing him. He got up and bent down so they were level and started to close the distance between them.

Winry almost jumped back when she saw he was doing nothing but getting closer and closer to her face. She wanted to yell at him, maybe even pull out her wrench to teach him to keep his distance, but when she felt his warm breath sweep over her face, she was frozen to the spot. She closed her eyes tightly, expected to feel his lips against hers any second, but she felt something different.

First, his hand smoothed out over her forehead and brushed her bangs away, then his own forehead pressed against hers. Winry almost felt cheated.

"What are you doing?" she hissed out, feeling like she had asked him that far too many times already that day. His expression remained relatively impassive, but his frown was hard to hide.

"My mom used to do this when Al and I were sick. It's a way to take your temperature," Ed said, his voice lowering. Winry's face took on a look of guilt. She didn't mean to bring up any sad memories for Ed.

"I'm sorry Ed, I didn't-"

"It's fine, don't worry about it. What matters right now is that you still have a fever. You should get some sleep. I'll get you a cold wash cloth," Ed said pulling away from her and merely putting his hand over her forehead. She nodded at a loss for words and he left, his footstep resounding through the house as he went downstairs. She laid back down into the confines of her covers and snuggled her head into her pillow.

'Why is Ed going to all this trouble for me? I don't deserve it…' Winry thought miserably. She felt so useless, not being able to do anything. She also felt a little happy at the fact that Ed could stay, even though she knew it was a selfish thought.

'Just the fact that he's here helping me, and being so worried about me makes me happy," Winry thought, her eyes slowly closing. Her thoughts went blank as sleep took her away.

**xxx**

Winry woke up slowly at the sound of her bedroom door being opened, but she kept her eyes closed, deciding that she didn't have to worry about it and could go back to sleep.

She heard footsteps coming towards her and stopping in front of her bed. There was the sound of a chair being pulled forward and the plop of someone sitting down. The next moment she felt a hand brushing her hair out of the way and a cold, wet cloth being placed on her forehead. Winry was awake now, but she didn't dare open her eyes or move. There was a pause for awhile, where Winry thought that she might as well just go back to sleep, but the silence didn't remain.

"…Winry," it was Ed's voice. He whispered her name almost like it was on a sigh. His hand traced the shape of her smooth cheek, finally holding her chin softly. Winry's breath was caught in her throat. She felt and heard him move over her, his hand still lightly holding onto her chin. He was so close now his breath was once again cascading over her face, sending shivers through her body. She had a million thoughts running through her head, but everything disappeared when she felt his lips against hers. It was soft chaste kiss, only a brush of their lips against one another, but Winry's heartbeat increased dramatically at the action. The kiss was short, but it felt like so much longer to her.

"You had better recover soon…" Ed mumbled pulling away from her. He walked out hastily, softly pulling the door close behind him with a click. Winry's eye snapped open once she knew he was out of the room and she sat up quickly. A vibrant blush had worked its way over her face, and her breathing came back in a rush, heavy and quick. She slowly touched her fingers to her lips, remembering the feeling.

'Edward…' She thought, a small tentative smile forming over her face.

**xxx**

Pinako had arrived that night to find her granddaughter in bed sick. She merely shook her head with a light scolding at Winry. She knew Winry had been working too hard lately, but the girl was just too stubborn to admit it. The only thing Pinako regretted was leaving her for longer than expected.

"Good thing you boys showed up. Winry probably would have been passed out on the floor by the time I came back. Thank you," Pinako said with a sincere look in her eyes.

"No problem Auntie!" Ed said in a carefree manner. Al nodded at his brother's statement.

"Anyway, it's late. You should probably call it night," Pinako said taking a puff on her pipe. The brothers nodded, heading upstairs.

"Race you to our room Brother!" Al challenged. Ed frowned.

"That's not funny Al. You know I can't run with this spare leg," Ed said with an un-amused huff. Al only laughed.

"Like you could have beaten me anyway. I'm going on ahead," Al said, sprinting away.

"Hey-!" Ed shouted after him, but he had already disappeared into their room. He fumed silently, but knew it was a lost cause. He couldn't stay mad at his younger brother for long anyway.

He limped down the hallway, sometimes grabbing the wall for support, but stubbornly pushing off of it the moment he did. He hated the spare leg and all its inadequacies, but he wouldn't be reduced to using the wall for support. He kept walking, but stopped at the closed door of Winry's room. He contemplated going in again to check up on her, but his faced blazed the moment he thought of what he did when he last entered. He thanked whatever God might be out there that she was asleep when he kissed her. He shook his head violently before walking the rest of the way to his shared room with Al. He was _not_ going to keep thinking about it. With that final thought he entered his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

**xxx**

"Hey Ed, are you alright? You look like you didn't get any sleep at all," Al mused, pointing out the bags under Ed's eyes.

"Shut up! I did so sleep!" Ed snapped, knowing perfectly well that every word out of his mouth was a lie. He couldn't stop thinking about Winry…and her blue eyes, and her flushed face and her lips and…He cut himself off right there, fighting back the urge to slap himself.

"What's wrong with him?" Pinako whispered to Al. He shrugged, puzzled by his brother's behaviour.

"No idea," he said before Pinako smiled knowingly. Edward turned furiously to them.

"Automail! What about my automail?" Ed practically screamed. Pinako scoffed, taking a puff from her pipe.

"Calm down. Winry already had a moderate amount done before she became sick, so if she's feeling better, she should be able to fix it before tomorrow. Even when that girl is sick, she does her job well," Pinako smiled, pride in her voice.

"Ah, speak of the devil," she said as Winry made her way down the steps tiredly. Ed flinched visibly, but remained silent, his eyes straight ahead of him.

"Are you feeling better Winry?" Al asked as she took a seat. She nodded and yawned.

"A lot better than I was yesterday. Where's Ed's automail? I never finished it," she asked, getting straight to business.

"In the other room," Pinako said casually. Winry jumped up, her chair squeaking back loudly.

"Ok, I'll get right on it!" she said, looking refreshed by the idea of getting to work again.

"Machine freak," Ed mumbled. Winry gave him a scathing look.

"Alchemy freak!" she shot right back. With that she turned on her heel and began to march to the next room.

"Um," a voice started, making Winry turn around. It was Ed.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay today? If you passed out again it would…it would be a lot of trouble, ok?" Ed said, masking his embarrassment with annoyance. Winry just smiled at him.

"Don't worry shorty, I'll be fine and your automail will be done in no time. I guess I have you to thank for that, hm?" she said, skipping away before he could reply, although she could still hear him shouting from the next room.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT?"

She giggled before going to her work desk. She had heard his hasty outburst, but what she hadn't seen was that he had sunken down in his chair after, his face burning with a blush.

**xxx**

Winry yawned, finishing up the last adjustments on the automail. She smiled at her work, positive that it was her best one yet. She couldn't always be mad at Edward for breaking his mechanical arm; after all, she was always able to improve it every time and the money wasn't bad either. He was one of their best payers; a proverbial cash cow. Being a State Alchemist had its perks, especially when it came to money, but at the amount of danger it got Ed in, it also made it one of the most risky jobs as well. That and it made her worried out of her mind. The brothers seemed to be particularly well at doing that.

She sighed, jumping when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Are you all done?" it was Pinako. Winry nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I modified the chrome levels in it and made it more durable. He's going to need that especially," she said, running a hand over the arm.

"Well, the boys are getting up and ready, so we can attach Ed's arm and leg then," Pinako said, walking to the door.

"I'll get Ed down here," she said, a sly smirk on her face before she left the room. Winry's eyebrow rose at the look, but she shrugged it off quickly. Not soon after Pinako left, she could hear Edward's complaining as he made his way down.

"What do you want you bean sized hag?" Winry shook her head as she heard her grandmother shoot back an equally insulting comment about his height as well before they got into a yelling match. By the time Ed entered the room, he was dishevelled and angry, glaring back at the old woman who pushed him forward.

"I told you your automail is ready! Do you have a problem with your hearing as well as being able to grow taller?" she shouted, pushing Edward. He glared at her, his mouth open for a come back before he saw Winry standing not too far from him, an unimpressed look on her face. He shut his mouth quickly, spotting the gleaming wrench gripped tightly in her hand.

"Oh, Winry. Hi. My automail is ready, huh? Well, let's get started!" he began to laugh nervously, shooting worried glances at the wrench every so often. She pointed stiffly to a chair.

"Sit down and shut up before you force me to use this thing," she said, her voice full of contained anger. He did as he was told, sliding into the chair quickly, or as quickly as he could with his spare leg.

"Ok Granny, lets get everything into position," she said dryly, grabbing his arm. Ed gulped.

**xxx**

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Winry, you didn't have to shove it in so hard! You know how connecting the nerves gets to me!" Ed whined, his new arm and leg fitted and attached to him. Winry smirked darkly.

"But then it wouldn't have connected as smoothly," she said, an innocent tone in her voice. Pinako stifled a laugh. Ed shot her a glare before getting to his feet.

"So how does it feel?" Winry asked. Ed stretched the limbs out.

"Once you get over putting them on, they feel pretty good. Nice and light," Ed remarked, pulling his metal arm behind his head in a stretch. Winry beamed.

"Awesome! I added a new metal to it that I thought would-"

"I don't need to hear the details," Ed said flatly, pulling on his t-shirt and vest.

"Hey! I pulled an all-nighter on that! Have a little gratitude!" she fumed. Pinako smirked at the two before leaving the room. Clearly, she was no longer needed and she didn't mind in the least. The kids needed their alone time anyway.

"Oh, and who's the one who took care of you while you were sick? How 'bout some gratitude for that?" Ed said cheekily. Winry blushed, remembering exactly how he took care of her, but ploughed on angrily.

"I'll thank Al after!" she said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Hey! Who was the one to get you water and a cold washcloth and to…to…" Ed stuttered, trailing off, a blush now staining his face as well. Winry huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from him.

"Well, uh, you did a good job on my automail. It feels really great; should last a long time," Ed said, changing the subject abruptly. Winry glanced at him from the corner of her eye and before he even knew what was happening, she ran up to him and kissed him softly on the lips, pulling away quickly. Edward stood dumbfounded, reaching a hand up to his lips hesitantly before staring at her. Her blush took on a deeper tint at his stare but she continued on.

"Make sure to take good care of it, ok?" she said softly and he could only nod. They walked out together, silent and blushing, but Pinako didn't ask any questions.

When it came time for Edward and Alphonse to leave, it was a typical goodbye, but Winry made sure to have one last departing wish.

"Make sure to come back soon!" she shouted. Ed turned while walking, a bright smile on his face as he looked at her.

"It's a promise!" he shouted back waving goodbye. She raised her hand, waving as well even as his back slowly grew smaller on the horizon. It was one promise she knew he would keep. He always did.


End file.
